how is 2+2 and 2×2 both equal 4?

Question

3+3 and 3×3 isnt the same, and the same thing with all other numbers. i don’t understand how 2+2 and 2×2 both equal 4

In: Mathematics

Answer 1

It’s because + and × are both binary operators, which is to say, they each operate on two numbers. So using the number 2 has this special property. It even continues with exponentiation (though that doesn’t even have a visible operator): 2^(2)=4. If there were yet-higher-order binary operators in the same sequence then providing 2 as the operands would always give the answer 4.